Life Tech, Isis and Genoptix evolve to major success

CARLSBAD ---- Any biotechnology hub worthy of the name is going
to have some success stories. Carlsbad has three big ones: Life
Technologies, Isis Pharmaceuticals and Genoptix.

These companies not only put Carlsbad on the biotech map, but
they help attract other biotechs to the city, say industry
observers. And they've also become ever-larger customers in the
city's biotech real estate market.

The coastal city has long been the center for North County
biotech. Industry-watchers give several reasons: a higher vacancy
rate and lower lease rates than the county's main hub in the La
Jolla/Sorrento Mesa area, a skilled work force, and a high quality
of life.

"It's become a hub for biomedical companies to grow and
succeed," said Shane Poppen, an associate at commercial real estate
brokerage Irving Hughes.

Life Technologies, seller of thousands of biotech research
products, is the biggest success. The company formerly known as
Invitrogen Corp. is North San Diego County's highest valued biotech
concern, worth about $8.5 billion on the stock market.

Life Tech has been in Carlsbad since 1997, when it moved from
Sorrento Valley. It employs about 1,000 people in Carlsbad, and
thousands more at branch offices in other states and countries.

"Carlsbad has been a great home to Invitrogen and now Life
Technologies," said CEO Greg Lucier. "We're doing a pretty dramatic
expansion of our campus and the city officials have been very
cooperative, helping us with permitting, to allow us to expand and
bring a lot more jobs into San Diego."

In February, Life Tech bought its 179,721-square-foot
headquarters building on Newton Drive for $15.8 million.

Consistently profitable, the company earned $110.6 million, or
58 cents per share, in the quarter ended June 30.

Two decades in Carlsbad

Isis Pharmaceuticals is valued around $800 million. The company
is developing an array of drugs using its gene-blocking "antisense"
technology. It has also helped spawn a web of related companies,
some of which are in Carlsbad.

Isis has been in Carlsbad even longer than Life Technologies,
moving there from the Philadelphia area about 20 years ago. It
employs about 300 people in Carlsbad.

"We like it," said Stanley T. Crooke, Isis CEO, who spoke of
Carlsbad as part of the San Diego area. "We've stayed here, built
here, and formed quite a number of companies in the area. We like
that it's San Diego. All of us like living in San Diego, and it's
easy to recruit to San Diego."

In the spring, Isis signed a 20-year lease to occupy a
176,000-square-foot research building to be built at Carlsbad Oaks
North Business Park. Isis intends to bring together operations now
divided among three buildings with a total of 115,000 square
feet.

When the new building is occupied, Isis will increase its total
leased space to 204,700 square feet, including a 28,700-square-foot
manufacturing plant a couple of miles away.

Isis has long been money-losing, like most biotechs that spend
their cash on research and development. But in 2009, the company
earned $155 million, thanks to lucrative deals with other
companies.